Born in Phoenixville in 1843, Samuel Whitaker Pennypacker spent his young adult life studying law. After opening his own law practice in Philadelphia in 1866, Pennypacker explored public service opportunities. He served on the Philadelphia Board of Education and was appointed judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia in the late 1880s. In 1902, Pennypacker (Republican) defeated Robert Pattison (Democrat) to become the 23rd Governor of Pennsylvania.

Campaign Pin for Governor Pennypacker

During his time as Governor, Pennypacker addressed problems created by the industrial revolution. One of these problems was the Coal and Iron Police. Prior to the 20th century, Pennsylvania only had localized sheriffs and police. With the rise in Pennsylvanian manufacturing, companies hired private police to secure their property. However, without oversight, many of these private police were used to combat strikes and other worker disputes. Governor Pennypacker saw these private police as unconstitutional and thus created the Pennsylvania State Police. This statewide police force was one of the first in the United States.

In addition to the State Police, Governor Pennypacker appointed the first commissioner of forestry and helped to preserve half a million acres of land. He also established the State Museum of Pennsylvania and oversaw the rebuilding of the State Capitol (which later became the subject of a price gouging scandal).

Book written by Gov. Pennypacker about the PA State Capital. HSMC Collection

One less positive aspect to Governor Pennypacker’s time in office was his poor relationship with the press. Tired of being drawn as a parrot by political cartoonist Charles Nelan, the Governor passed the Salus-Grady law (also known as the anti-cartoon law of 1903). This law banned cartoons that depicted people as animals. According to Governor Pennypacker, the law was designed to make the press more accountable and less driven by newspaper sales. The press claimed the law was a violation of their first amendment rights and proceeded to depict the Governor and other politicians as non-animal objects. The Salus-Grady Bill was ultimately repealed in 1907 after Governor Pennypacker’s term ended.

The law's supporters satirically portrayed as inanimate objects by Walt McDougall. Photo credit: The North American

After his Governorship, Pennypacker returned to practicing law and writing. He died on September 2, 1916 in Schwenksville and is buried in Morris Cemetery.

Readers of a certain age no doubt remember The Saturday Evening Post. Even readers born after the Post’s heyday, are probably familiar with some of its familiar Normal Rockwell covers. But, did you know of Montgomery County’s connection to the iconic American weekly?

Published in Philadelphia, The Saturday Evening Post goes all the way back to 1821, but it rose to prominence in the twentieth century under the direction of Charles Horace Lorimer. Lorimer lived in Wyncote, part of Cheltenham township. Much of his estate is now occupied by Ancillae Assumpta Academy.

Lorimer was also the author of the book Letters from a Self-Made Merchant to His Son. While it’s not widely known today, it was a best-seller in the early twentieth century.

Cover from Letters from a Self-Made Merchant, from our collection

Lorimer left the Post in 1936, in part, according to the Saturday Evening Post Society’s website, because he felt out of touch with New Deal era America. The cover in our collection dates to 1949, when Ben Higgs was editor.

It shows a well-known corner of Montgomery County – Skippack Pike and 202 in Whitpain. Men run to the engin of the Center Square Fire Company on one side of the street and the recently closed Reed’s Store appears on the other side. The note for this cover claims that the artist, Stevan Dohanos, was looking to capture a small town fire company. It goes on to say, “Incidentally, four Post artists, long fascinated by that Center Square department store, have tried to figure out a theme for coverizing it, and failed.”

The Post continued to be an influential magazine into the 1960’s when competition from television led to the decline of print media. The Post’s parent company lost a major libel suit and the magazine stopped printing in 1969. Since then, it has been revived, most recently by the non-profit Saturday Evening Post Society.

Our hardworking trustee and volunteer, Ed Ziegler found a great map of the early days of Norristown this morning.

The map was made in 1926 by Simon Cameron Corson, a man who knew Norristown inside and out. He was born in 1863 and attended Treemount Seminary (along with nearly every other male Norristonian of note). He trained as a civil engineer, and worked for the Pennsylvania Railroad for several years. He was one of the many engineers sent to rebuild the railroad after the Johnstown Flood. Ten years later, he was elected Borough Engineer in Norristown. In that position he improved the borough’s streets, storm drains, and designed Elmwood Park. After 33 years, he left that position to be the administrator of the park, a position he held until a few months before his death at the age of 85 in 1948.

According to his obituary, “it was an undisputed fact that he was the best informed of historical facts in Norristown.”

We have many of Corson’s drawings in our collection, and a few of them are of early Norristown. This one is interesting for several reasons. First, he added color, which just makes the map beautiful. Then there are the little details he added.

Here is William Smith’s house. Smith was the first provost of the College of Philadelphia (it would later merge with the University of the State of Pennsylvania forming the University of Pennsylvania). His house, as you can see, was located on Barbadoes Island. Although he was appointed by Benjamin Franklin, they were polar opposites politically. The map declares Smith a Tory. His biography on the University of Pennsylvania’s website suggests a more complicated story. Smith argued for the rights of the colonists but spoke out against revolution.

The map also shows a small Lenni Lenape village labeled “Turtle Munsey Delaware Tribes.” Munsee was one of the languages spoken by the Lenni Lenapi (or Delaware), and Turtle was one of the three clans of the tribe.

Finally, there’s a little bit of downtown. The only labeled intersection in this part of the map is Egypt (Main) and Cherry Alley (presumably Cherry St.), so we have a good idea of where this is today. The Norrington Inn is identified and dated to 1690. It's interesting to see what in in Norristown a few decades before the borough incorporated in 1812.

Since it's the dog days of summer, I thought we could revisit one of our earliest blogs. Ok, I'm super busy and our curator in on vacation, so we're running a repeat.

In 1875, Blasius Pistorius, a German priest on a visit to his brother in Norristown, was arrested for the murder of Isaac Jaquette. The trial caused great excitement in the county and was prominently featured in local newspapers. The Historical Society of Montgomery County holds the complete transcripts of Pistorius’s two trials. His trial was the first in the county to use a court stenographer.

The dispute between the two men involved Jaquette allowing his cattle to graze on Pistorius’s brother’s land (John Pistorius was also tried for murder, but he was not present at the time of the shooting and so was acquitted). On July 24, 1875, when a boy working for Jaquette, Henry Muloch, allowed the cattle to cross over to the Pistorius farm, Blasius Pistorius came out with a pistol and threatened to shoot the cattle if they were not removed. Muloch ran for Jaquette, who picked up two stones and threatened Pistorius with them. The two men exchanged some more threats before Jaquette lunged for the pistol. The pistol fired, killing Jacquette.

Pistorius’s lawyers argued that their client acted in self-defense and that Jaquette chose to undertake the risk of the gun firing when he attempted to take it from Pistorius. Nevertheless, the priest was found guilty of first degree murder and sentenced to death. Since he was a subject of the German Empire, the German consulate stepped in, and his sentenced was change to life imprisonment. Pistorius died in Eastern State Penitentiary in 1888.

A few months ago, we received a small collection of letters from a woman named Barbara Cook. The letters had been found together in the Morris house in Adrmore. Two of the letters were very old and are now among the oldest documents at the Historical Society of Montgomery County.

They both date to 1683. One was written by Phineas Pemberton to Phoebe Pemberton and the other was from Ralph Pemberton to Phoebe Pemberton. I used the book Colonial Families of Philadelphia by John W. Jordan to learn more about the family.

Ralph and Phineas were father and son, and they came to North America together, along with Phineas’ wife Phoebe (nee Harrison). In their native Lancashire, Jordan tells us, the Pemberton’s were a prominent family in the parish of Wigan.

Ralph's letter to Phoebe

The third letter was a letter written to Phineas and Phoebe’s grandson, James Pemberton, author of a booklet defending pacificism called "An Apology for the People called Quakers." James lived in Philadelphia and was an organizer and later president of the Pennsylvania Abolition Society. James and his older brother, Israel Pemberton, Jr. were opposed to armed confrontation with the British. In 1777, both were banished to Virginia. His third wife, also named Phoebe, was left to take care of their property “The Plantation” (The land later became the US Naval Asylum in Philadelphia).

John Fothergill by Gilbert Stuart, author of the letter?

The letter in our collection was written to James during the revolution by John Fothergill of London. There was a prominent Quaker named John Fothergill in London at the time. He was a physician and botanist, but there is no saying if it is the same man. In the letter, he exhorted James to keep his mind on what really mattered:

"Your part is a clear one. Be quiet, mind your own proper business. If your kingdom is not of this world, mind that only which we look for, and are taught by the highest authority to seek."

Later he repeats the same idea:

"Be quiet, and mind your own business, promote every good work – show yourselves subject to that invisible overruling providence…"

James and Israel stayed in Virginia for eight months before returning to Philadelphia.

The final item donated with the letters was an account of Morris family during the American Revolution. The account is undated, but probably from the nineteenth century. A little more digging through Jordan, and I found that James’ daughter with his second wife (Sarah), Mary Smith Pemberton married Anthony Morris. The Morrises were also Quakers, but during the Revolution several members fought aginst the British. So, through the connection of Mary and Anthony Morris, the papers came to be in Ardmore. They were apparently forgotten for many years, and we are very happy Ms. Cook saved them and brought them to us.

For much of our history, people used physical currency to purchase goods. However, today we are experiencing an increased use of electronic payments instead of traditional paper and metal currency. This transition can be partly attributed to the emergence of charge accounts in the early twentieth century.

Times Herald, September 1956

Charge accounts were essentially the first credit cards. Large companies gave their customers an account number and a small metal coin to show to the cashier for each purchase. At the end of the month, the customer would get one bill for all the purchases they made at that store. The picture below shows an example of a Chatlin’s Charge Card.

Chatlin's Charge Card, HSMC Collection

Russian Jewish immigrants Samuel and Ida Chatlin founded this Norristown department store in 1892. Located at 244-252 East Main Street, Chatlin’s sold a variety of items such as: clothing, tools, and home appliances. To compete with other large stores in the area, Chatlin’s created many charge accounts for their customers.

Chatlin's Department Store, HSMC Photograph Collection

Upon their retirement in 1926, Samuel and Ida’s son, Morris, took over the family business. When Morris died in 1974, Chatlin’s had no heir willing to continue the family business. Morris’ widow, Cecele (Stein) Morris, originally planned to move the company to Logan Square in 1975. However, by November of 1975, Cecele announced the store would close.

Visitors to our headquarters these past few weeks might have noticed a change to our meeting room.

The archivist has taken over.

In the summer, our programs tend to move outside to the cemetery taking advantage of longer days and warmer weather. Rather than let all that space go to waste, I moved the Corson family papers in. I have three more weeks to get it all foldered, boxed, and described.

Processing a collection like this is the meat and potatoes of archival work, and it’s fascinating to dig (sometimes in a very literal way) into people’s lives. The papers came to us from the Corson family when they sold the Maple Hill property, right on the border of Plymouth and Whitemarsh townships. They were created by three generations of Corsons – Dr. Hiram Corson, his son Dr. Joseph K. Corson, and his grandson, Dr. Edward F. Corson. I’ve wrote about Joseph a few weeks ago, so today I’ll focus on Edward.

Dr. Edward F. Corson in the army during World War I

Edward was born in 1883, the second child of Joseph and Ada Corson. His father was a U.S. Army surgeon and the family moved around to various posts in the West and the South. He was born in Missouri and educated at the Friends’ School in Washington, D.C. while his father was stationed there. In 1895, he enrolled at Germantown Academy while his father was stationed in Wyoming.

Don't worry, later letters show Edward enjoying his time at Germantown Academy.

After graduating in 1901, he went into the family trade, becoming a doctor. He specialized in dermatology. As a young man, Edward traveled quite a bit. We have some letters he wrote to his parents from the White Star Line’s SS “Arabic.” He even traveled to the Far East.

In 1917, Edward married Esther Bisler in Chicago and served in World War I. They had two children and lived in Philadelphia and Lower Merion before eventually settling at the family home, Maple Hill. He died in 1967.

Norristown didn’t have a Catholic Church until St. Patrick’s opened in 1834, mainly to serve Norristown’s Irish population. In the latter half of the Nineteenth Century, immigrants from southern and eastern Europe began coming to America, and Norristown became home to hundreds of newly arrived Italians. Although the word “catholic” means universal and Catholic services were conducted in Latin at the time, it was typical for immigrant groups to start their own parishes, staffed by priests from the home country.

Norristown was no different. For many years, Italians celebrated Mass at St. Patrick’s. Eventually, an Italian mission church opened in the basement, led by two Italian priests who preached, heard confessions, and gave spiritual support in Italian. In 1902, a new priest came to Norristown, Father Michael Maggio, who formed a committee, raised funds, and in 1903 built a small church on land acquired from the Good Shepherd Sisters of St. Joseph’s Protectory.

The first Holy Saviour Church, or Sanctissima Salvatore, was barely a full story high. In 1908 it was replaced by a larger, more typical looking church that would accommodate the growing parish. This was largely the work of Father Lambert Travi, Holy Saviour’s second pastor. Father Travi went on a decade later to build the parish’s first school. It in September of 1928 with 500 students. The parish continued to grow, with the school getting up to 800 students. The school was staffed by the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, one to each grade, making for a student-teacher ratio of 100:1!

In 1948, the parish purchased a closed public elementary school, the James A. Welsh School, and moved in for the 1948-1949 school year. In the 1950’s, Holy Saviour’s pastor, the Italian born Father George Delia, expanded the church, doubling its size to hold up 1000 people.

Monsignor Peter J. Cavallucci with the Norristown Exchange Club at Holy Saviour School

The school has been closed, and students from the parish now attend Holy Rosary Regional School in Plymouth. However, Holy Saviour parish is still a vital part of Norristown’s culture, celebrating several feast days a year. The parish also has a mission church, Our Lady of Mount Carmel in the Black Horse section of Plymouth.

We recently put some new paintings on display in our Reading Room at HSMC. One of them is a portrait of former Pennsylvania Governor David Rittenhouse Porter. In 1838, Porter ran against incumbent Governor Joseph Ritner and won by roughly 5000 votes. Porter’s victory shocked the Anti-Masonic Whigs, causing Burrowes (Chairman of the Whig Committee) to demand an investigation of what he believed to be a fraudulent election. Burrowes instructed supporters of Governor Ritner to “treat the election held on the 9th of October as if it had never taken place.”[1]

Governor David Rittenhouse Porter, HSMC Collection

When the Philadelphia votes were tallied, it was revealed that the legal voting returns from the Northern Liberties District (representing about 5000 voters) were withheld at the request of defeated Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, Charles J. Ingersoll. He claimed he lost due to voter fraud since the tally books from the sixth and seventh wards were lost.[2] In response to Ingersoll, six of the seventeen voting return judges submitted their own voting results, which favored the Anti-Masonic Whig candidates. As a result, both parties submitted separate voting results on the State House floor and elected their own Speakers for the State House of Representatives.

Similar problems were found in the State Senate. When Senators were denied their seats due to fraudulent voter returns, a crowd of angry onlookers threatened violence against Anti-Mason Whig leaders Burrows, Stevens, and Penrose. This caused the men to flee the State Senate floor by jumping out a window. The Norristown Herald and Free Press and other papers claimed the mob was led by Philadelphia Loco-Focos. [3]

Norristown Herald and Free Press, December 12, 1838

The scene became increasingly unstable when the PA State Arsenal was taken by Anti-Mason Whig supporters. Governor Ritner called for the PA militia to be sent to Harrisburg to keep the peace. When General Patterson arrived with his troops in Harrisburg, he was asked if he would support Governor Ritner and the Anti-Mason Whig leaders. Patterson proclaimed that “he had not come for political purposes” and would only act if actual physical violence broke out among the angry crowds.[4] Governor Ritner even appealed to President Van Burren to help put an end to the situation in Harrisburg. The President denied Governor Ritner help, deeming the situation as one that must be settled by the State of Pennsylvania. Without a federal supply of troops or ammunititon, Governor Ritner ordered thirteen rounds of buckshot cartridges to be given to the State troops, giving this event its name.

Photograph courtesy of Capital Preservation Committee and John Rudy Photography

Ultimately, a group of Anti-Mason Whig Representatives joined their Democratic counterparts, giving the Democrats the majority in the State House of Representatives.[5] This settled the major disputes in the Legislature and allowed Governor Porter to be inaugurated as the ninth Governor of Pennsylvania.

Born in Maple Hill in Whitemarsh Township in 1836, Joseph K. Corson was the son of Dr. Hiram and Ann (Foulke) Corson. He followed his father (and many other members of his family) to the University of Pennsylvania Medical Department. He was studying there in 1861 when the Civil War broke out, and he enlisted as a 90 day volunteer in the 4th Pennsylvania Regiment in Norristown. He was discharged in July of the same year and returned to medical school.

Corson was appointed a medical cadet at an army hospital in Philadelphia while he finished his studies. He graduated in March of 1863 and re-entered the army as an assistant surgeon. He was at several battles including Gettysburg, the Wilderness, and Spottsylvania. At the Battle of Bristoe Station on October 14, 1963, Corson, with another man, went back under heavy artillery fire to rescue a wounded soldier and bring him to safety. For his heroism, he was awarded the National Medal of Honor.

After war, he practiced medicine with his father Hiram Corson for a short period, but in 1867 he went back into the army as an assistant surgeon. Over the next decades he was stationed all around the country from upstate New York, Alabama, and out west.

Mary Ada Corson, heartbreaker

While he was stationed in Wyoming, he married Mary Ada Carter, the daughter of Judge William Carter, originally of Virginia. According to a Philadelphia Inquirer article from April 12, 1964, Joseph had competition for Ada’s hand in the form of Captain Arthur MacArthur (eventually father of Gen. Douglas MacArthur and also a National Medal of Honor winner).

The Carter home in Wyoming, where Ada Carter broke Arthur MacArthur's heart

The Corsons had two children. Their daughter, Mary Carter Corson was born at Mount Vernon Barracks in Alabama in 1876. Her parents sent her to school in Philadelphia. In 1890, she was returning to her parents after having been away for a year, when her train went over an embankment and she was killed. Their son, Edward F. Corson was born at Jefferson Barrack in Missouri in 1883. He, too, attended the University of Pennsylvania and became a doctor.

Joseph Corson and his two children. Mary died at the age of 14.

Joseph K. Corson died in 1913 and was buried in West Laurel Hill Cemetery.